Thousands of devout Christians flocked to the National Mall Sunday in Washington, D.C., which stretches between the Capitol grounds to the east and the Washington Monument to the left, for a daylong prayer rally. Huge stained glass windows with sweeping arches soared upward to meet imposing columns as religious music spilled out from a stage, imbuing the space with the feeling of attending a church service.

The purpose of the event was laid out in a statement by the official White House X account: “Thousands of Americans are gathering on the National Mall TODAY for a powerful day of prayer, praise, and patriotism as we chart the course for America’s next 250 years and rededicate ourselves to ONE NATION UNDER GOD.”

Following the theme of rededication, President Donald Trump addressed the crowd via a video address in which he quoted at length from 2 Chronicles 7, a passage that deals with the dedication of the Temple. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), among other top Republicans, also took part in the celebrations marking 250 years of American independence.

Speakers at the event celebrated Christianity as the foundation of the United States of America in a doctrine that critics have dubbed Christian nationalism. One of the speakers owned the term.

“If being a Christian nationalist means loving Jesus Christ and loving America, count me in,” said the Rev. Robert Jeffress, a well-known Southern Baptist pastor.

The speakers argued that the United States was founded as a Christian nation, a controversial position that has its detractors.

Arguing against the position, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, pointed to the religious diversity of early Americans, who counted among them Jews and Muslims. “I want to shine a light on America’s history as a nation that welcomes, celebrates, and protects people of all faiths and those of no faith,” Pesner said.

“We are deeply concerned that what is really being rededicated is a nation to a very narrow and ideological part of the Christian faith that betrays our nation’s fundamental commitment to religious freedom,” said the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor, a Baptist minister and leader of the Sojourners, a progressive Christian organization.